MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- On Sept. 7, Notre Dame fell to Northern Illinois, a 28-point underdog, in one of the most stunning defeats in the program's storied history.

The then-No. 5 Fighting Irish not only lost to the Huskies at home, but they were manhandled by a Mid-American Conference program that had never beaten an AP top-10 opponent. Northern Illinois outgained the Irish 388-286 in total yardage, converted twice as many first downs, allowed just two plays longer than 19 yards and blocked two field goals.

For the Fighting Irish, who had won 23-13 at Texas A&M in their opener a week before, their season could have been over as it barely started.

"It could have gone sideways fast," Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden said.

Four months later, the Fighting Irish are somehow one victory away from capturing their first national championship in 36 years.

Notre Dame defeated Penn State 27-24 on Mitch Jeter's 41-yard field goal with seven seconds left in a College Football Playoff semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl on Thursday night.

The No. 7 Fighting Irish will play the winner of Friday's other semifinal between No. 5 Texas and No. 8 Ohio State at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic in the Jan. 20 CFP National Championship presented by AT&T.

The team that couldn't beat a four-touchdown underdog at home has now won 13 consecutive games -- with a chance for one more, the biggest of them all.

"I often tell them, in your lowest moments you find out the most about yourself," Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said. "We've had low moments, but we had a really low moment Week 2, and these guys battled. We've got great leaders. We've got great players that chose to put this university and this football program in front of themselves."

Notre Dame's coaches and players credit Freeman, who turned 39 at midnight after the game, with keeping the Irish on track after their stunning loss to Northern Illinois. It was an arduous task for a former defensive coordinator who had never been a head coach until he was promoted on Dec. 3, 2021, to replace Brian Kelly, who left for LSU.

"He handled it magnificently," Golden said. "Just being in that situation, being in that chair like that, that's tough. There's no escape from it, but it never got to the locker room. It never got to the team meeting room. He handled all the stress and all the pressure internally, and was the leader that we all needed at that moment."

Freeman didn't want the Fighting Irish to wipe the pain of losing to Northern Illinois from their memory. He wanted them to embrace the adversity to remember that they can never take anything for granted.

Freeman's message to his team was simple: Keep the pain. Don't let it go.

"I think it really caused us to lock the locker room door and say, 'Hey, it's just us. The people in this room are the only things that matter,'" linebacker Jack Kiser said. "I think Coach Freeman's message and mentality through the rest of the year kind of echoed that."

The day after the loss to Northern Illinois, defensive tackle Howard Cross III huddled with Freeman and quarterback Riley Leonard.

"It's the second game of the season," Cross told them. "I'm not going to go belly up in the second game of the season. We need to keep pushing."

The Irish won their next 12 games by an average of 27.5 points. Only one of them, a 31-24 victory over Louisville, was decided by fewer than 10.

After reaching the CFP, Notre Dame defeated Indiana 27-17 in a first-round game on Dec. 20, then Georgia 23-10 in a quarterfinal game at the Allstate Sugar Bowl on Jan. 2.

"I think you learn the most about your team and the guys around you at the lowest points, and we showed who we were after that game," said receiver Jordan Faison. "After that loss, it was devastating. Everyone felt bad about it, but being able to bounce back kind of shows the team and the grit we've got."

The scar tissue from 124 days ago is what helped the Irish overcome season-ending injuries to several of their best players, including All-American cornerback Benjamin Morrison and star pass rusher Rylie Mills.

It's what helped them overcome injuries in their victory over Penn State. With the Irish trailing 10-0 late in the first half, Leonard had to leave the game after he was hit by defensive tackle Dvon J-Thomas on an incomplete pass. They lost two starting offensive linemen, left tackle Anthonie Knapp and right guard Rocco Spindler, to injuries as well.

While Leonard was being examined for a potential concussion, backup quarterback Steve Angeli came off the bench and led the Irish on a 13-play scoring drive. Jeter kicked a 41-yard field goal on the final play of the half to make it 10-3.

Angeli had attempted only 28 passes this season before Thursday. He completed 6 of 7 attempts for 44 yards on his lone possession.

"We had a lot of confidence in Steve and what he can do, and we weren't just going to put him in there to hand the ball off," Freeman said. "We were going to go to try to score, and we ended up scoring three points."

Leonard cleared concussion protocol at halftime and returned in the second half. He scored on a 3-yard run on the opening drive to tie the score at 10.

The Irish went ahead 17-10 on Jeremiyah Love's 2-yard run on the third play of the fourth quarter. But then Penn State tied the score on Nicholas Singleton's 7-yard run with 10:20 to play.

After Leonard threw his second interception on the next play, Singleton scored again to give the Nittany Lions a 24-17 lead with 7:55 to play.

With less than five minutes remaining, Leonard threw a 54-yard touchdown to Jaden Greathouse, who was wide open after cornerback Cam Miller fell down. Greathouse juked safety Jaylen Reed and ran into the end zone to tie the score at 24.

Leonard completed 15 of 23 passes for 223 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. He led the Irish on four scoring drives in the second half.

"He's a competitor, and competitors find a way to win, and that's what Riley does," Freeman said. "That's what this team does."

It seemed like the game was headed to overtime after both teams punted in the final minutes.

But with 35 seconds left, Penn State quarterback Drew Allar tried to throw a pass away. Safety Jaylen Sneed hit Allar as he threw, and cornerback Christian Gray intercepted the ball at the Penn State 42 to set up Jeter's winning field goal.

"That's what Christian Gray does," Freeman said. "He makes plays when it matters the most."

The Fighting Irish will have to make a few more big plays against Ohio State or Texas if they're going to win their first national championship since 1988. They'll likely be underdogs in Atlanta, especially if they're playing the high-powered Buckeyes, but they wouldn't have it any other way.

"To see how far we've come after the hiccup early on, just to know that we have one more guaranteed, one last one guaranteed, it's just so exciting," Kiser said.

The Fighting Irish believe they wouldn't be playing for a national title if they hadn't been tested like few other teams.

The team that wouldn't quit somehow keeps winning.

"The time you're tested the most is when you're at your lowest point," Freeman said. "We lose to Northern Illinois and you've got a decision: Do I want to be selfless, or am I going to put individual glory ahead of myself? I hope the nation sees no matter what the situation was, this team continues to put Notre Dame in front of [itself]."

The NFL has moved Monday's wild-card playoff game between the Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Rams to Arizona, it announced Thursday night, saying the decision was made in the "interest of public safety" as wildfires continue to ravage Southern California.

The game was originally scheduled to take place at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, at 8 p.m. Monday. It now will be played at Glendale's State Farm Stadium, home of the Arizona Cardinals, at the same time Monday.

The league had said earlier this week that Arizona would be the contingency plan if Monday's game had to be moved. In a statement Thursday, it said it came to the decision to go ahead with that move after "consultation with public officials, the participating clubs and the NFLPA."

A few hours earlier, another fire broke out in an area several miles from the Rams' training complex in the Woodland Hills neighborhood, leading the team to cancel its scheduled player media availability.

The league's other Los Angeles-based team, the Chargers, also are readying for a playoff game this weekend, although they play on the road against the Houston Texans on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET.

Both the Rams and Chargers practiced outdoors Thursday.

Smoke was visible from the field at the Rams' team facility, and coach Sean McVay said while players, coaches and staff have been affected by the fires, "fortunately to my knowledge, nobody has been injured. And for that we're grateful."

The Chargers held their final practice ahead of Saturday's game. The scene was dystopian at their facility in El Segundo: The skies were burnt orange, ashes flew around the field and many players, including outside linebacker Khalil Mack, tackle Joe Alt and quarterback Taylor Heinicke, wore masks.

The Chargers do not have an indoor practice facility. Coach Jim Harbaugh said he followed the suggestions of "experts" in altering practice, so players were outside for roughly 45 minutes, which is half the typical time they practice outside. Harbaugh said they didn't consider flying to Houston early and practicing there.

"Our guys did a great job with improvising and adjusting," he said. "And really, we were able to get as close as we possibly could to what a normal practice would look like."

Harbaugh also said that his daughter Grace evacuated from her home in the Hollywood area Wednesday night and is staying with him.

Outside linebacker Joey Bosa said he lives close to an evacuation zone and his fiancée and dog went to Houston early. Bosa said he slept with his phone notifications on loud Wednesday night in case he would have to evacuate.

"Hoping when I get back to L.A., I have a house to go to," Bosa said.

Speaking before the NFL announced the location change for Monday's game, Vikings defensive lineman Harrison Phillips, the team's player representative to the NFLPA, said the league should be conscious of the optics of playing the game in Los Angeles, juxtaposing it with the NBA postponing the Lakers' game against the Charlotte Hornets scheduled for Thursday night in downtown Los Angeles. Phillips noted that the Lakers play in an indoor facility, and SoFi is an open-air stadium.

"When a hurricane hits a certain location, or if a tornado came through and devastated a community, you want to be very cautious of the optics," he said. "And again, I strictly say this from a human standpoint, not as a Minnesota Viking who wants a better competitive advantage. That's not where it's coming from."

Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell, who is from the San Diego area, said he reached out to McVay to show support.

"There's really no words you can say other than you're thinking about them, praying for them and just hoping that things start to turn here," O'Connell said.

The Vikings moved from consensus 1-point favorites to 2.5-point favorites Thursday after the announcement that the game was being relocated.

Game relocations are rare in the NFL but not unprecedented. In 2003, the league moved a Monday night regular-season game between the Chargers and Dolphins from San Diego to Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, because of wildfires in Southern California.

The Rams had a Monday night game against Kansas City relocated from Mexico City to Los Angeles in 2018 because of concerns about the playing surface at Azteca Stadium, and McVay cited that experience as part of his preparation for the uncertainty created this week.

"You acknowledge these things, but you also want to make sure that how you can control making sure that you're doing the right things is preparing accordingly, while also being mindful that this is bigger than football," McVay said. "If people you're directly involved with are affected, you're making sure you're tending to that first."

Information from The Associated Press and ESPN's Sarah Barshop, Kris Rhim and Kevin Seifert was used in this report.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard started the second half of Thursday's College Football Playoff semifinal against Penn State after clearing concussion protocol at halftime, coach Marcus Freeman told ESPN's Molly McGrath coming out of the locker room.

After getting medical clearance to return to the game, Leonard led the No. 7 Fighting Irish on an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive on the opening possession of the second half. He scored on a 3-yard run to pull the Irish into a 10-10 tie with 10:46 left in the third quarter.

Leonard, a senior transfer from Duke, was injured after throwing an incomplete pass to Jordan Faison with 1:35 to go in the second quarter. He was hit by Nittany Lions defensive tackle Dvon J-Thomas. The back of Leonard's helmet appeared to bounce off the turf at Hard Rock Stadium.

Backup quarterback Steve Angeli, a sophomore from Westfield, New Jersey, finished the half for the Irish. He completed 6 of 7 passes for 44 yards on the drive.

Mitch Jeter kicked a 41-yard field goal on the final play of the half to cut Penn State's lead to 10-3.

PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia 76ers rookie Jared McCain will miss the rest of the season after left knee surgery last month on a torn meniscus, the team announced Thursday.

McCain, 20, spent one season at Duke before the Sixers made him their 2024 first-round draft pick. McCain was off to a fantastic start and had averaged 15.3 points in 23 games. He started eight games and was an instant fan favorite in large part due to amassing nearly 5 million followers as a TikTok sensation.

McCain earned Eastern Conference rookie of the month honors for November but complained of knee soreness after a Dec. 13 game against Indiana.

McCain was one of the few highlights for the Sixers, scoring a career-high 34 points in a loss to Cleveland in mid-November. He scored 20 or more points in eight games this season.

Injuries to Philadelphia stars Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George -- billed as the team's "Big Three" after George's offseason arrival -- have limited the trio to playing parts of only three games together. As a result, the Sixers have stumbled to a 15-20 start.

Embiid (left foot sprain), Andre Drummond (left toe sprain), Kyle Lowry (right hip strain) and KJ Martin (left foot) have all been ruled out for Friday's game against New Orleans. George is probable due to groin tightness.

NEW YORK -- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Toronto Blue Jays avoided a salary arbitration hearing when the first baseman agreed Thursday to a $28.5 million, one-year contract on the day players and teams were to exchange proposed figures.

Houston Astros left-hander Framber Valdez also agreed to a one-year contract for $18 million.

Guerrero and Valdez can become free agents after the World Series.

Tarik Skubal, the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, received $10.15 million from the Detroit Tigers two years before he's eligible for free agency, more than three times what he earned the prior season.

Guerrero, son of Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero, won a $19.9 million salary last year in a record high for an arbitration decision when a panel picked his figure rather than the Blue Jays' $18.05 million offer.

Juan Soto set a record for an arbitration-eligible player when he agreed last year to a $31 million deal with the New York Yankees, topping Shohei Ohtani's $30 million 2023 contract with the Los Angeles Angels. Soto became a free agent in November and signed a record $765 million, 15-year contract with the New York Mets.

Guerrero wasn't the only player to agree with the Blue Jays, as outfielder Daulton Varsho $8.2 million) and catcher Alejandro Kirk ($4.6 million) also reached one-year deals. The Astros, meanwhile, also reached deals with new third baseman Isaac Paredes ($6.625 million) and shortstop Jeremy Pena ($4.1 million).

There were 155 players eligible for arbitration at the start of the day and a majority were expected to agree to deals.

Among them:

• Three-time batting champion Luis Arraez agreed to a $14 million salary and right-hander Dylan Cease agreed to $13.75 million for the 2025 season with the San Diego Padres.

• The Arizona Diamondbacks agreed to deals with starting pitcher Zac Gallen ($13.5 million) and first baseman Josh Naylor ($10.9 million). Gallen went 14-6 with a 3.65 ERA and 156 strikeouts last season, while Naylor batted .243 with 31 home runs and 108 RBIs.

• The Seattle Mariners reached an $11.3 million deal with outfielder Randy Arozarena, who batted .219 with 20 home runs and 60 RBIs last season.

• The New York Yankees and two-time All-Star reliever Devin Williams, who was acquired in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers this offseason, agreed to an $8.6 million contract.

• The World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers locked in a pair of key right-handed relievers, coming to terms on one-year deals with Michael Kopech ($5.2 million) and Brusdar Graterol ($2.8 million).

• The Chicago White Sox signed first baseman Andrew Vaughn for $5.85 million. He batted .246 last season with 19 home runs, 70 RBIs and tied a career high with 30 doubles.

For players failing to reach agreements, including new Chicago Cubs outfielder Kyle Tucker and Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran, hearings will be scheduled before three-person panels from Jan. 27 through Feb. 14 at St. Petersburg, Florida.

Players went 9-6 in hearings last winter, leading teams with a 353-266 advantage since arbitration started in 1974. The 15 hearings were down from 19 last year, when the clubs won 13, but up from 13 in 2022, when teams won nine. Players had a winning record for the first time since going 6-4 in 2019.

A total of 169 players were eligible for arbitration after the November deadline for teams to tender 2025 contracts to unsigned players on their 40-man rosters, down from 238 at the start of the prior week.

All agreements for arbitration-eligible players are guaranteed but deals that went to panel decisions are not.

San Francisco third baseman J.D. Davis and Mets right-hander Phil Bickford were released after winning their cases last year.

Davis received $1,112,903. in termination pay rather than a $6.9 million salary and Bickford got $217,742 rather than the $900,000. Davis then signed a $2.5 million deal with Oakland and Bickford got a deal with the Yankees that paid $1.1 million while in the major leagues and $180,000 while in the minors.

ESPN's Alden Gonzalez, The Associated Press and Field Level Media contributed to this report.

"It wasn't bad enough, probably, for me to go down in the way that I did. I probably could have carried on and allowed the ref to pull it back afterwards if he thought there was foul play, but in that moment, whether my judgement was clouded or not, I felt like I was hit head on head, so I went down.

"I was completely entitled to. I didn't cheat the system. I didn't dive. By the letter of the law, and for our own safety, if there's a head collision, you're allowed to go down and the ref can review it."

Northampton snatched a 35-34 success against the Premiership leaders through Fin Smith's penalty with the last kick of the game.

Lawrence, 25, did not have a head injury assessment because the collision did not merit medical intervention according to data collected on the sidelines.

"I don't think I was cheating," he added.

"People say I brought the game into disrepute. I would argue that I didn't. I just went by the letter of the law. But I do apologise for that because, at the end of the day, there are a lot of kids that look up to us as players and I don't want people to think that I'm a cheat or a diver.

"I want people to play the game and enjoy it and play it in the right spirit so, like I said, I apologise for my actions in that moment. I'll leave the referee to decide if there's head contact in the future."

Lawrence was seen smiling in the aftermath when team-mate Finn Russell lined up the resulting penalty as the Franklin's Gardens crowd jeered.

"In terms of my reactions during the game, I do smile after I make a mistake," he said.

"It's something I have done my whole career. It's just my way of getting over it and moving on to the next thing. There was no wry smile or a wink or whatever people seem to think they saw.

"That's just me cracking on and getting on with the next thing. I'm probably just talking to the next person on the field next to me and making a joke at some point because, at the end of the day, I'm trying to get over it and get on to the next thing."

Barcelona vice president Juli Guiu has stepped down over discrepancies relating to the club's new deal with Nike, sources have confirmed to ESPN.

Barça confirmed Guiu's resignation in a short statement on Thursday.

"Barcelona inform that Guiu has presented his irrevocable resignation as vice president for personal reasons," the club said.

"We would like to thank him for his services and dedication to the institution since joining the board of directors in 2021, during which time he has been a key player in the agreements with the club's major partners in recent years."

Sources explained to ESPN that Guiu's decision came on the back of Barça's new multi-year agreement with Nike, which is worth over 100m ($103m) a year.

Guiu disagreed with some of the terms of the deal, ended up being sidelined in the negotiations and also protested the amount of commission paid to the agent Darren Dein, who acted as an intermediary between Barça and Nike.

Barça announced the deal with long-term partner Nike in November, with president Joan Laporta claiming it is the biggest of its kind in football.

The agreement was ratified by members at an emergency meeting called in December and has helped improve the club's financial situation.

Guiu was one of four vice presidents and was in charge of marketing.

During his time at the club he played a key role in bringing several new sponsors on board, including Spotify, who are Barça's main sponsor and have also bought the naming rights to Camp Nou.

His resignation comes as off field issues continue to make headlines at Barça, with Spain's sports ministry the Consejo Superior de Deportes (CSD) this week allowing temporary player registrations for Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor.

The CSD's decision goes against ruling made by LaLiga and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), which said Barça had missed a deadline to prove they were compliant with financial fair play regulations (FFP) and could not register players for a second time in the same season.

The decision has been met with incredulity by LaLiga sides, with Atlético Madrid and Las Palmas condemning the ruling, but sources said the saga has nothing to do with Guiu's departure.

LOS ANGELES -- Amid wildfires raging through Southern California, both Los Angeles football teams held outdoor practices Thursday as they prepare for the first round of the playoffs this weekend.

Smoke was visible from the field at the Rams team facility in Woodland Hills, California, and many Chargers players wore masks.

The Rams are scheduled to host the Minnesota Vikings at SoFi Stadium at 8 p.m. Monday in Inglewood, California. On Wednesday, the NFL said it's continuing to prepare for the game at SoFi Stadium, but if there's a need to move it because of the fires, it will be played Monday night at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

"I am expecting the game to be in SoFi," Rams coach Sean McVay said. "We're operating with the full expectation that that's where we're going to play."

McVay said while players, coaches and staff have been affected by the fires, "fortunately to my knowledge, nobody has been injured. And for that we're grateful."

"It's one of those deals that almost doesn't feel real, but it certainly is real to the people that are affected," McVay said. "Praying that as many people are OK. And you just see the amount of people that are affected and it's one of those deals that it gives you perspective, and so hopefully you get this stuff under control."

A fire broke out Thursday in the Calabasas/Hidden Hills area, neighborhoods that are home to several Rams players and coaches. The team canceled its player media availability so everybody could go home quickly.

McVay said the Rams are monitoring air quality at their practice facility. If needed, the team has explored the possibility of moving practice to SoFi Stadium, but McVay said he doesn't expect to get to that point.

Defensive lineman Harrison Phillips, the Vikings' player representative to the NFLPA, said the league should be conscious of the optics of playing the game in Los Angeles, juxtaposing it with the NBA postponing the Lakers' game against the Hornets scheduled for Thursday night in downtown Los Angeles. Phillips noted that the Lakers play in an indoor facility, and SoFi is an open-air stadium.

"When a hurricane hits a certain location, or if a tornado came through and devastated a community, you want to be very cautious of the optics.," he said. "And again, I strictly say this from a human standpoint, not as a Minnesota Viking who wants a better competitive advantage. That's not where it's coming from."

Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell, who is from the San Diego area, said he reached out to McVay to show support.

"There's really no words you can say other than you're thinking about them, praying for them, and just hoping that things start to turn here," O'Connell said.

The Chargers will play the Texans in Houston on Saturday at 4:30 ET and held their final practice Thursday ahead of the game. The scene was dystopian at the Chargers facility in El Segundo: The skies were burnt orange, ashes flew around the field and many players, including outside linebacker Khalil Mack, tackle Joe Alt and quarterback Taylor Heinicke, wore masks.

The Chargers do not have an indoor practice facility. Coach Jim Harbaugh said he followed the suggestions of "experts" in altering practice, so players were outside for roughly 45 minutes, which is half the typical time they practice outside. Harbaugh said they didn't consider flying to Houston early and practicing there.

"Our guys did a great job with improvising and adjusting," he said. "And really, we were able to get as close as we possibly could to what a normal practice would look like."

Harbaugh also said that his daughter Grace evacuated from her home in the Hollywood area Wednesday night and is staying with him.

Outside linebacker Joey Bosa said he lives close to an evacuation zone and his fiancée and dog went to Houston early. Bosa said he slept with his phone notifications on loud Wednesday night in case he would have to evacuate.

"Hoping when I get back to LA, I have a house to go to," Bosa said.

Information from ESPN's Kevin Seifert was used in this report.

Williams follows team-mates Cam Winnett, Ben Thomas, Liam Belcher and Alun Lawrence in signing new deals at the Arms Park, as well as Regan Grace until the end of the season.

Cardiff-born fly-half Ioan Lloyd, 23, also looks set to join Cardiff from Scarlets in the summer.

Sherratt added: "We have been very clear with our ambition of ensuring our homegrown players are committed to the club and I am delighted that we have secured the services of Teddy."

Williams' late father Owain played for Cardiff, while younger brother Gabe has also broken into the region's under-18s squad.

"The club means a lot to me and it just feels like this is the right place for me to progress," said Williams.

"The club is moving in the right direction and I feel I'm playing some of my best rugby right now. Hopefully that can see me play more for Wales."

Former Wales and British and Irish Lions star George North is set for his club rugby debut in France.

The 32-year-old joined French second-tier side Provence for the start of 2024-25.

But after committing to the move from Ospreys, North suffered a ruptured Achilles in his final Wales Test, a 2024 Six Nations defeat by Italy in Cardiff.

He has been named on the bench for Provence in the Pro D2 at Agen on Friday, 10 January.

North posted on social media: "Looking forward to getting out there! Been a long time."